MasterCard Incorporated Reports Third-Quarter 2015 Financial Results

PURCHASE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MasterCard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) today announced financial results for the third quarter of 2015. Excluding a special item, the company reported net income of $1.0 billion, up 1%, or 9% after adjusting for currency, and earnings per diluted share of $0.91, up 5% or 11% adjusted for currency, versus the year-ago period. Including the special item, a $50 million after-tax charge related to the termination of the U.S. employee pension plan, the company reported net income of $977 million, a decrease of 4%, or an increase of 3% after adjusting for currency, and earnings per diluted share of $0.86, a decrease of 1%, or an increase of 5% when adjusted for currency, versus the year-ago period. The net income and earnings per diluted share figures, excluding the special item, are reconciled to their comparable GAAP measures in the accompanying tables. Acquisitions had a $0.03 dilutive impact on earnings per diluted share in the quarter.

Net revenue for the third quarter of 2015 was $2.5 billion, a 2% increase versus the same period in 2014. Adjusted for currency, net revenue increased 8%. Net revenue growth was driven by the impact of the following:

• An increase in cross-border volumes of 16%;
• A 13% increase in gross dollar volume, on a local currency basis, to $1.2 trillion; and
• An increase in processed transactions of 12%, to 12.3 billion.

These factors were partially offset by an increase in rebates and incentives, primarily due to new and renewed agreements and increased volumes. Acquisitions contributed 1 percentage point to total net revenue growth.

Worldwide purchase volume during the quarter was up 12% on a local currency basis versus the third quarter of 2014, to $852 billion. As of September 30, 2015, the company’s customers had issued 2.2 billion MasterCard and Maestro-branded cards.

“We are pleased with the results we delivered this quarter, in spite of the ongoing uncertainty in the global economy. We continue to see double-digit growth in both volume and transactions in most of our regions around the world,” said Ajay Banga, president and CEO, MasterCard. “As the world becomes more digitally driven, our innovations and investments in things such as MasterPass, EMV and biometrics are helping to redefine the way people shop and pay with convenience and security.”

Excluding the special item, total operating expenses increased 1%, or 5% when adjusted for currency, to $1.1 billion during the third quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. Acquisitions contributed 4 percentage points of the FX-adjusted growth. Including the special item, total operating expenses increased 9%, or 13% when adjusted for currency, from the year-ago period.

Operating income for the third quarter of 2015 increased 2%, or 10% adjusted for currency, versus the year-ago period, excluding the special item. The company delivered an operating margin of 57.2%.

MasterCard reported other expense of $17 million in the third quarter of 2015, versus $2 million in the third quarter of 2014. The change was mainly driven by our share of equity losses from equity method investments and lower interest income.

MasterCard’s effective tax rate was 28.2% in the third quarter of 2015, versus a rate of 28.5% in the comparable period in 2014, excluding the special item. The decrease was primarily due to a larger repatriation benefit and a more favorable mix of taxable earnings, offset by a reduction in discrete benefits.

During the third quarter of 2015, MasterCard repurchased approximately 10 million shares of Class A common stock at a cost of approximately $930 million. Quarter-to-date through October 22^nd, the company repurchased an additional 1.5 million shares at a cost of approximately $144 million, with $1.2 billion remaining under the current repurchase program authorization.

Year-to-Date 2015 Results

For the nine months ended September 30, 2015, excluding this quarter’s special item, as well as the $44 million after-tax charge relating to a U.K. merchant litigation settlement recorded in the second quarter of 2015, MasterCard reported net income of $3.0 billion, an increase of 7%, or 15% after adjusting for currency, and earnings per diluted share of $2.64, up 10%, or 18% adjusting for currency versus the year-ago period. Including the special items, net income was $2.9 billion and earnings per diluted share was $2.56. Acquisitions had a $0.08 dilutive impact on earnings per diluted share in the year-to-date period.

Net revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $7.2 billion, an increase of 2%, or 8% after adjusting for currency, versus the same period in 2014. Gross dollar volume growth of 13%, cross-border volume growth of 17% and transaction processing growth of 12% contributed to the net revenue growth in the year-to-date period. These factors were partially offset by an increase in rebates and incentives. Acquisitions contributed 2 percentage points to total net revenue growth.

Excluding the special items, total operating expenses increased 3%, or 7% after adjusting for currency, to $3.0 billion, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to the same period in 2014. The increase was due to the impact of acquisitions. Including the special items, total operating expenses increased 8%, or 12% after adjusting for currency.

Excluding the special items, operating income was $4.1 billion, an increase of 1% for the nine months of 2015 versus the same period in 2014 or an increase of 8% after adjusting for currency. The company delivered an operating margin of 57.5%.

MasterCard’s effective tax rate was 26.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 versus a rate of 30.9% in the same period in 2014, excluding the special items. The decrease was primarily due to a larger repatriation benefit, the recognition of a discrete U.S. foreign tax credit benefit and a more favorable mix of taxable earnings.

Third-Quarter Financial Results Conference Call Details

At 9:00 a.m. ET today, the company will host a conference call to discuss its third-quarter financial results.

The dial-in information for this call is 877-201-0168 (within the U.S.) and 647-788-4901 (outside the U.S.), and the passcode is 51218078. A replay of the call will be available for 30 days and can be accessed by dialing 855-859-2056 (within the U.S.) and 404-537-3406 (outside the U.S.), and using passcode 51218078.

This call can also be accessed through the Investor Relations section of the company’s website at www.mastercard.com/investor.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

The company has presented certain financial data that are considered non-GAAP financial measures that are reconciled to their most directly comparable GAAP measures in the accompanying tables.

The presentation of growth rates adjusted for currency represent a non-GAAP measure and are calculated by remeasuring the prior period’s results using the current period’s exchange rates.

About MasterCard Incorporated

MasterCard (NYSE:MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Pioneers Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release which are not historical facts, including statements about MasterCard’s plans, strategies, beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking and subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Accordingly, except for the company’s ongoing obligations under the U.S. federal securities laws, the company does not intend to update or otherwise revise the forward-looking information to reflect actual results of operations, changes in financial condition, changes in estimates, expectations or assumptions, changes in general economic or industry conditions or other circumstances arising and/or existing since the preparation of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of any unanticipated events. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements related to our business performance and the execution of our strategy.

Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements for a number of reasons, including those set forth in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, the company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K that have been filed with the SEC during 2015, as well as reasons including difficulties, delays or the inability of the company to achieve its strategic initiatives set forth above. Factors other than those listed above could also cause the company’s results to differ materially from expected results.

Footnote

The tables set forth the gross dollar volume (“GDV”), purchase volume, cash volume and the number of purchase transactions, cash transactions, accounts and cards on a regional and global basis for MasterCard®-branded and MasterCard Electronic™-branded cards. Growth rates over prior periods are provided for volume-based data.

Debit transactions on Maestro® and Cirrus®-branded cards and transactions involving brands other than MasterCard are not included in the preceding tables.

For purposes of the table: GDV represents purchase volume plus cash volume and includes the impact of balance transfers and convenience checks; “purchase volume” means the aggregate dollar amount of purchases made with MasterCard-branded cards for the relevant period; and “cash volume” means the aggregate dollar amount of cash disbursements obtained with MasterCard-branded cards for the relevant period. The number of cards includes virtual cards, which are MasterCard-branded payment accounts that do not generally have physical cards associated with them.

The MasterCard payment product is comprised of credit, charge and debit programs, and data relating to each type of program is included in the tables. Debit programs include MasterCard-branded debit programs where the primary means of cardholder validation at the point of sale is for cardholders either to sign a sales receipt or enter a PIN. The tables include information with respect to transactions involving MasterCard-branded cards that are not processed by MasterCard and transactions for which MasterCard does not earn significant revenues.

Information denominated in U.S. dollars is calculated by applying an established U.S. dollar/local currency exchange rate for each local currency in which MasterCard volumes are reported. These exchange rates are calculated on a quarterly basis using the average exchange rate for each quarter. MasterCard reports period-over-period rates of change in purchase volume and cash volume on the basis of local currency information, in order to eliminate the impact of changes in the value of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar in calculating such rates of change.

The data set forth in the GDV, purchase volume, purchase transactions, cash volume and cash transactions columns is provided by MasterCard customers and is subject to verification by MasterCard and partial cross-checking against information provided by MasterCard’s transaction processing systems. The data set forth in the accounts and cards columns is provided by MasterCard customers and is subject to certain limited verification by MasterCard. A portion of the data set forth in the accounts and cards columns reflects the impact of routine portfolio changes among customers and other practices that may lead to over counting of the underlying data in certain circumstances. All data is subject to revision and amendment by MasterCard’s customers subsequent to the date of its release.

In 2015 Q3, several customers purged inactive MasterCard cards and accounts. Data for the comparable periods in 2014 has been revised to be consistent with this approach.

Performance information for prior periods can be found in the “Investor Relations” section of the MasterCard website at www.mastercard.com/investor.